nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, august 8, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

NBC (28.75 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 9.2, #1) was again the network to beat on Wednesday with its primetime coverage of the "2012 Summer Olympics" (28.75 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 9.2, #1) followed by the premiere of "Go On" (18.50 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 6.4, #2).

[UPDATED!- 10:46 AM] Said numbers for "Go On" - with the six minutes of Olympics coverage removed from the half-hour - have been adjusted to a 5.6 rating in adults 18-49 and 16.1 million viewers overall.

CBS (4.38 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2) then claimed the silver with its mix of "Big Brother 14" (5.31 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #3), "Criminal Minds" (3.94 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #6) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (3.91 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T7).

Next up was ABC (2.79 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) with repeats of "The Middle" (3.06 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T7), "Suburgatory" (2.47 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T10), "Modern Family" (2.90 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T4), another "Modern Family" (2.75 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T4) plus the season finale of "Final Witness" (2.79 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T7).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.89 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) offered up a rebroadcast of "So You Think You Can Dance" (1.89 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T10).

And finally, repeats of "Supernatural" (1.04 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #12) and a second "Supernatural" (0.75 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) on The CW (0.90 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Supernatural" delivered a 0.4 rating at 8:00/7:00c and a 0.5 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Final Witness
-5.26% - Big Brother 14

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
-33.33% - Big Brother 14
-38.46% - Final Witness (vs. Primetime Nightline)

[NOTE: Late-night metered market ratings will return after the Olympics.]

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (8/10/11):

FOX (5.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1) took home a narrow victory on Wednesday with the penultimate installment of "So You Think You Can Dance" (5.67 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3).

CBS (6.67 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) then was a competitive second place with a new "Big Brother 13" (7.23 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1) followed by repeats of "Criminal Minds" (5.61 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (7.16 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6).

Next up was NBC (6.27 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3) with its mix of "Minute to Win It" (4.83 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #10), "America's Got Talent" (9.34 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) and "Love in the Wild" (4.63 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #5).

Meanwhile, ABC (4.12 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) offered up encores of "The Middle" (4.22 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #12), "Modern Family" (4.46 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6), another "Modern Family" (4.77 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4), "Happy Endings" (2.96 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11) and a new "Primetime Nightline" (4.17 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6).

And finally, repeats of "America's Next Top Model" (1.15 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T13) and another "America's Next Top Model" (1.05 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T13) on The CW (1.10 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Minute to Win It (9.1%), Big Brother 13 (8.0%), Love in the Wild (7.1%), So You Think You Can Dance (5.6%), Primetime Nightline (0.0%), America's Got Talent (0.0%).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.5/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.0/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.5/2 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.0/4 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2 with an encore).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research